Mike Babcock, who had been the most coveted head coach available this summer, is coming to the centre of the hockey universe where everyone pretty much assumes he will work his Midas touch and turn a team of loveable losers into contenders.

Certainly, his track record would suggest that is the case. But while Babcock was successful for the past 10 years in Detroit, there are no guarantees that he will carry over that success in Toronto. After all, this city has a reputation for swallowing legacies.

Here are five people who came to Toronto with a spotless reputation but then left with a mighty big stain on their resumé:

Ron Wilson
He is ranked ninth in all-time wins and has coached more games than anyone except for Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour and Dick Irvin. But after spending four miserable years in Toronto, Ron Wilson’s legacy might be forever known for the 18-wheeler that went off a cliff during the 2011-12 season. At the time, the Leafs had been pointed towards a playoff spot. Wilson had even received a contract extension. But after a doomed 1-9-1 streak that sunk the team’s playoff chances, the “Fire Wilson!” chants became too loud to ignore.

Randy Carlyle
In his introductory news conference, Carlyle was described as a no-nonsense coach who had won a Stanley Cup in Anaheim and would hold the Leafs accountable for their actions. For one shortened season, he did just that. Using an old-school approach, Carlyle squeezed a team that no one thought was good enough into the playoffs, where Toronto came within a goal of beating Boston and reaching the second round. But the following year, the Leafs lost 12 of their last 14 games and spectacularly crashed out of a playoff spot. With the team on the edge of another collapse this January, he was fired.

Francois Allaire
The man who coached Patrick Roy was regarded as a “goalie guru” who also helped shaped the careers of J-S Giguere, Ilya Bryzgalov and Jonas Hiller. But Toronto presented Allaire’s biggest challenge. From Vesa Toskala and Jonas Gustavsson to James Reimer and Ben Scrivens, the team never supplied the goaltending coach with a No. 1 goaltender. As a result, Toronto consistently ranked amongst the worst in the league in save percentage and goals-against average. After just three years, he was let go by the team, with Burke criticizing Allaire’s famed “butterfly” technique as “outdated.”

Brian Burke
When he arrived, Burke said that whoever led the Leafs to the Stanley Cup would have schools named after him. He also said he would be the man to do it. But patience was never his strongest trait and Burke, who never wanted a rebuild, made a series of high-stakes gambles — trading two first-round draft picks for Phil Kessel — that ultimately cut his tenure short. Forget the Cup. Under Burke, the Leafs never made the playoffs and the team he built is now being blown up and being rebuilt.

Dion Phaneuf
The Leafs acquired the highly touted defenceman, who had been a Norris Trophy finalist, in a seven-player blockbuster trade in 2010. Almost immediately, Phaneuf was made captain. But from there, it all went downhill. Blame Phaneuf for not meeting the sky-high expectations or management for not surrounding him with a top-pairing defenceman, but no one would call Phaneuf a No. 1 defenceman these days. The Leafs, if they decide to keep him and his bloated US$7-million salary, probably will not even call him a captain.